Taylor Fritz can’t remember the exact score. But the broad strokes of the match remain seared on to his mind, more than a decade later: he was around 14, and he lost. ‘Pretty routinely,’ the American recalls.

What he didn’t find out until recently? There was more riding on the match than ranking points and a spot in the next round. His opponent that day, Tommy Paul, had made a side bet with rival Frances Tiafoe.

‘Him and Frances went on for a match at the exact same time – Tommy to play me, Frances to play someone else,’ Fritz explains. ‘And they were having a race to see who could win first. It wasn’t even a question of if he was going to win or not. It was just who could do it faster.’

Paul held up his side of the bargain. ‘He toyed with me,’ Fritz says. ‘But that’s just how it was. ‘A lot of those guys were better than me – and it wasn’t just Frances and Tommy. It was 10 or 15 other guys. I wouldn’t even be able to name them.’

He can laugh about it now. Now he sits top of the pile. Heading into the US Open, Fritz is the American No 1, boyfriend to ‘the most famous woman in men’s tennis’ and the leading light among a crop of home hopefuls in New York.

The 26-year-old is currently ranked No 12 in the world. At 13 is Ben Shelton. At 14 is Paul. At 16 is Sebastian Korda. At 20? Tiafoe. None has yet to win a Grand Slam. All harbor hopes of ending America’s 21-year wait for a male US Open champion.

In recent days, the voice of Andy Roddick has sounded around the subway network of New York. Via platform speakers, the 41-year-old offers directions to the scene of his Grand Slam victory in 2003. Coco Gauff last year made it three American women to have won since then. No man has even reached the final since Roddick in 2006.

Fritz made it to the last eight for the first time in 2023; he returns this year hoping to go a few steps further. His career is arcing in that direction and earlier this summer, Fritz overcame long days and a lack of sleep to end the career of Andy Murray and win Olympic bronze in the men’s doubles. His partner in Paris? Paul.

It was the world No 14 who told Fritz about that race with Tiafoe. ‘We weren’t friends at the time,’ Fritz says. Now they are like ‘brothers’. ‘Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do too much off the court,’ Fritz says. ‘But it was incredible to just share that experience of winning a medal with Tommy. One of my best friends.’

They and Tiafoe were all born within eight months of each other. But they rarely all shared a court as kids. ‘I was miles behind,’ Fritz explains. ‘One of the things that helped me improve so much was the first time I went to a camp with all those guys.

‘I realized that I was nowhere near as good as I thought I was.’ Fritz came from good stock – his mom, Kathy, was once ranked in the world’s top 10.

Until his mid-teens, however, the American split his time between several sports – including basketball. ‘And then 30 minutes to an hour of tennis a day,’ he recalls. ‘I never did any gym stuff. I never did any kind of conditioning.’

He quit his high school basketball team to attend that humbling first tennis camp. But before long he was living with Paul – and Reilly Opelka – at the USTA base in Florida. ‘From the age of like 15, 16, 17, I’ve been so tight with all these guys,’ he says.

In 2022, Fritz watched as Tiafoe beat Rafael Nadal en route to the US Open semi-finals. It was a run that catapulted his friend towards stardom – suddenly brands and celebrities wanted their slice of Tiafoe. Last year it was Shelton, the fearless 21-year-old with a wide smile and lightning serve, who lit up Flushing Meadows. Fritz knows this fortnight can transform his life.

‘It’s huge – these are the two weeks of the year that I feel like all of America is really paying attention to tennis,’ he says. ‘It’s an awesome opportunity to really be seen. But I’m not…’ he pauses. ‘I don’t know, I’m not thinking too much about that.’

In the past, he’s been happy to pass time by playing video games and trash talking through the screen. Thankfully, Fritz’s girlfriend doubles up as his publicist.

The 26-year-old has been dating Morgan Riddle since 2020. The influencer has been dubbed the ‘most famous woman in men’s tennis’.

She has exposed the sport – and her partner – to new audiences through social media. She has released tennis-themed jewelry. She has shed light on another side of tennis – the life of those who follow players around the globe. She ensures Fritz sleeps enough and avoids too much Chipotle or McDonald’s.

She has become a figure within the sport in her own right. The couple recently announced a partnership with Heineken’s ‘L0VE.L0VE’ campaign for the US Open.

On the eve of the tournament, Fritz and Riddle – who has 17.8million likes on TikTok -spoke on a panel about ‘the intersection of fashion and tennis’. They posed for photoshoots and coordinated black Boss outfits. Why? That’s the color Fritz will wear for night matches this week.

Last year, it was reported that their US Open routine involved staying in Manhattan’s plush Hudson Yards district and taking a helicopter out to Queens.

Riddle knew nothing about tennis before they met but earlier this summer she became the story at the sport’s flagship event. After Fritz beat Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon, the German appeared to take a thinly-veiled dig at Riddle.

Both during and after the match, meanwhile, she uploaded social media posts that seemed to reference allegations of abuse against Zverev. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Zverev and Fritz are on the same side of the draw for this US Open. Other substantial hurdles stand between the No 12 seed and a maiden Grand Slam – namely Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

‘I want to have a big run,’ Fritz says, knowing what that could mean – on and off the court.

‘All of that stuff just comes as secondary when you perform well… all I’m ever really focused on is results, trying to become the best player I can be. And living up to the expectations that I’ve put on myself.’ There’s no extra prizes this time for beating the clock.

(Armani)